Subsea products and equipment manufacturer Ennsub has finished sealing work on a platform in Australia. The Aberdeen head-quartered firm worked on the design, manufacture, testing and installation and sealing systems for the Wheatstone Liquefied Natural Gas platform off the Australian coast.
Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) has finished a major project in Yorkshire for a northern European energy giant. ESS completed a boulder clearance and seabed preparation campaign for Dong Energy at the Westermost Rough wind farm, eight miles off Yorkshire coast.
Aberdeen energy service firm Hydro Group has invested £300,000 in a fancy new piece of kit to help it make tougher underwater cables for the oil and gas industry. The company said yesterday it had installed and commissioned an advanced armouring line at its Bridge of Don facility, becoming one of only a few UK businesses to have the technology. Hydro Group, which designs and manufactures cables and connectors for subsea and onshore use, said its custom-designed single and multi-layered steel armoured cables were able to withstand higher stresses in subsea and defence operations.
Cheniere and GE have entered a $1billion contract for the Sabine Pass LNG export terminal. The 20-year deal will see GE provide spare parts and planned inspections, maintenance services and technical support for the gas turbines and refrigerant compressors on the first four LNG trains currently under construction.
Drilling service provider Mermaid has landed a $50million contract in the Gulf of Thailand. The two-year deal will see the firm's dive support vessel provide subsea constrcution support for a major oil and gas operator in the area.
The drop in global oil prices has not dented the hiring intentions of businesses in Aberdeen, according to a jobs report. The city’s jobs market is still described as “very buoyant” in the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey despite oil prices tumbling since the summer. Brent crude fell to a five-year low of $66 at one stage yesterday amid fears of over-supply, with investment bank Morgan Stanley warning that prices could drop to as low as $43 a barrel next year.
SURF contractor Ceona has christened its flagship deepwater field vessels after successful sea trials. Ship building specialist Lloyd Werft delivered the Ceona Amazon to Bremerhaven, where it was christened. The device was built to perform in multiple pipelay and operational modes and features large storage capacity and heavy subsea construction.
TGS and Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) have agreed to expand a recent $8million contract in the Barents Sea. The two will partner to acquire electromagnetic data over ten blocks in the Nordkapp and Tiddly areas. Stein Ove Isaksen, TGS senior vice president for Eastern Hemisphere, said: "TGS and EMGS are once again pleased to expand their cooperation in the Barents Sea.
The International Well Control Forum (IWCF) has launched a a certificate system aimed to combat fraud. The system includes increased security features to help combat faked qualifications such as holograms, serial numbers, watermarks and a QR code.
A £100m facility that could help the industry's employment needs is to be developed by the University of Aberdeen. The Energy Building will be built close to the Sir Duncan Rice Library on the corner of St Machar Roundabout and Bedford Road.
A specialist oil and gas service company in Aberdeen has launched technology to help prevent potentially disastrous power failures on offshore platforms OEM Diesel Products, which is based at the Kirkhill Industrial Estate in Dyce, says its “pioneering” engine cleaning system is designed to stop contaminated fuel causing major problems for energy companies. Managing director Barry Park said: “This revolutionary product comes at a time where the industry has a growing problem with fuel contamination.
Seabox will lead a Joint Industry Project (JIP) that will bring advanced subsea water treatment closer to full scale development. Carried out with Az ACG, Suncor, SIPCO and the support of the Research Council of Norway, the JIP will see Seabox complete a design of a subsea SWIT and membranes plant capable of producing quality water from surrounding water on the seabed. The firm will also identify technology components available on the market and suitable for use in the SWIT plant.
A new resource to meet the skills shortage within the oil and gas industry has been unveiled.
BP confirmed it is now operating the world’s first robotic coreflooding system in a bid to boost its enhanced oil recovery abilities. The firm also confirmed the new technology will now be fully deployed on the Clair Ridge project in the North Sea.
Aberdeen firm Coretrax has timed the launch of a new product for the oil and gas industry to coincide with its participation in the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference. Coretrax - named great small company winner at this year's Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards (OAA) - has invested £2million in its CX-IST (inflation support tool) cement placement technology.
Subsea demand is strong and getting stronger, with a backlog for orders at the highest level in more than four years for FMC Technologies.
A pipeline services specialist successfully isolated hydrocarbon pressure for 79 days while a gas valve upgrade project was carried out in the Gulf of Mexico. TD Williamson (TDW) was originally asked by a major oil company to isolate a 16-inch gas riser, which was connected to a major subsea gas pipeline network in order to replace a valve in 2012. However the network operator then asked for three additional valves to be installed, and a launcher extension was added to help facilitate inline inspection tool runs.
Marine-energy developers have been offered the chance to compete for a week of free testing – worth £38,000 ($61,000) – with what is said to be the world’s most sophisticated ocean simulator.
Oil giant Shell has invested £1million in a programme aimed at helping address the UK’s critical shortage of scientists and engineers. The Perkins Review of Engineering Skills, published last year, called for urgent action from employers to address this shortage. Shell’s three-year funding, which has been invested in the Tomorrow’s Engineer’s Programme, will enable the programme to expand into more than 500 new schools across the UK.
A course to provide English language skills to oil and gas professionals is to start in Aberdeen.
Ashtead Technology has launched a subsea training academy following a near-£500,000 investment.
Aberdeen-based Kerloch Oil Tools has secured licenses for the latest VAM connection on its premises.
Shell has contracted offshore technology provider Enhanced Drilling to conduct a survey on its EC-Drill – a managed pressure drilling (MPD) technology system.
Aberdeen-based Divex has landed a contract to deliver a communications system to the US Navy.
Oil and gas engineer Penspen has landed two contracts for a project in west Asia.